


A Different Kind of Love

by kirani



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Demisexuality, First Kiss, Lovers to Friends, M/M, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Canon, queer platonic partnership
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 16:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21148550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirani/pseuds/kirani
Summary: There are no fireworks, but Ronan always knew that concept was a load of shit. It’s just nice, being close to Gansey like this.





	A Different Kind of Love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Fandom Aspec Challenge! Dedicated to my dear Ghost who got very excited when I told him I was writing an aspec!Ronan.

They’re sitting on the hood of the Pig when Gansey says it and Ronan reels back and stares at the boy who is quickly becoming his best friend. He isn’t sure how much of their fast friendship is Gansey and how much of it is Ronan, he just knows they click. 

He runs his hand over his curls and blinks. “You wanna kiss me?”

Gansey nods like he hasn’t just asked something monumental. 

“I don’t do casual,” Ronan says before he answers. He hasn’t dated or kissed anyone yet, but he knows this about himself. He needs Gansey to know it, too.

“I’m not asking for casual,” Gansey says, looking down at his shoes hanging off the edge of the Pig. “I like you and I’d like to kiss you and take you on dates and things.”

Ronan considers. He trusts Gansey. This isn’t a joke, he wouldn’t do that. So the question is, does he want to kiss Gansey? 

Sure, his fashion sense is one of a middle aged dad, but he is handsome in an old money kind of way. And Ronan wouldn’t be friends with him if he was an asshole. Probably. Some assholes are entertaining. But that wasn’t Gansey. Gansey was thoughtful and too generous for his own good sometimes and he was passionate. 

Ronan thought he might like to kiss him. 

“Alright. But I’m holding you to that dinner. And I don’t put out on the first date.”

“Oh, no, that’s not what I—!”

Ronan cracks up, watching Gansey get offended on his behalf. He knew he wasn’t looking for sex. Gansey was too chivalrous for that. He had to get his fun somewhere though. 

“Relax, Gansey, I’m just messing with you. Let’s date or whatever.”

“Yeah?” Gansey gave him a shy smile and Ronan just nodded. He wasn’t sure what his voice would do if he tried to speak right now. “Can I kiss you? Or would you like a date, first?”

“This kinda feels like a date,” Ronan shrugs. When Gansey just looks confused, he continues. “We got food and then you drove us out to the mountains and were sitting and watching the sunset. Pretty romantic.”

“Oh.”

“It doesn’t have to count,” Ronan says. “But I like it. You can kiss me.” 

“Okay,” Gansey smiles again. He leaned into the space between them and Ronan leans in to match him, ducking his head slightly and they press their lips together. 

It’s a chaste kiss and they pull back after only a couple of seconds. There are no fireworks but Ronan always knew that concept was a load of shit. It’s nice, being close to Gansey like this. 

Gansey opens his eyes and looks at him with pink cheeks. “That was nice.”

“Yeah,” Ronan agrees. 

~

They go on their second date that weekend. Gansey has requested a couple more kisses over the last couple of days but it’s never been more than a chaste press of lips. 

At dinner, they act like normal friends, Ronan too hesitant of running into Aglionby students to try anything so bold as holding hands. But in the movie theater, when the lights go down, he takes Gansey’s hand. 

“Oh,” escapes Gansey’s lips. Ronan smirks at him and squeezes his hand. Gansey squeezes back. 

On the way back to the Barns, Ronan directs Gansey to pull over before they get there. Once the Pig is parked, he looks at Ronan with a question in his eyes. 

“Didn’t want to sit in my driveway and make out. My mom would kill me.” 

Aurora Lynch would do no such thing but it was what you said, right? Gansey smiles again, that shy smile Ronan has seen so often in the last few days, and Ronan leans over the gear shift to kiss it. 

Gansey lifts his hand after a moment and holds Ronan’s cheek gently, keeping him in place with just the suggestion of a touch. Ronan moves his lips against Gansey’s and gets a noise of surprise from him. He tries it again. He enjoys this, surprising Gansey. 

They make out sweetly for a few minutes, never really getting too much into it, just moving against each other’s lips over the gear shift. Gansey’s hand stays on his cheek and Ronan slides his hand up to Gansey’s shoulder. When they move apart, he knows his cheeks are as pink as Gansey’s but tries to play cool. 

“That’s nice,” Gansey sighs. “I should take you home.”

Ronan smiles and nods. “Okay.” 

~

The next couple of weeks are sweet. They go to more movies, more dinners, more long drives. They kiss. A lot. Gansey never does more than touch his shoulders or cheek with his hands, but Ronan wonders if he wants more. 

They progress to French kissing after a week and Ronan is really trying to get into it but it’s mostly just kinda wet. But Gansey seems into it, asks to take him on more dates, asks to kiss him again, asks to spend time with him. And Ronan likes that so he doesn’t say anything just yet.

When they’re at Gansey’s dorm the third week after they start dating, Ronan decides he needs to say something. They would probably end up making out again at some point and Ronan still wasn’t getting into it. 

He was terrified of losing Gansey as a friend but he was also feeling guilty that he wasn’t developing the feelings he thought he should. Finally, he just blurted it out.

“I don’t think I wanna make out anymore.”

Gansey considers him but doesn’t startle or pull away the hand Ronan is holding. “Can I ask why?” 

“Okay, so,” Ronan takes a deep breath. He needs to explain. He really doesn’t want to lose Gansey. He has to say it right. “I really like hanging out with you. And holding hands and kissing is nice, but it doesn’t feel… something. I dunno, Gansey, I’ve never dated before but I don’t think it’s supposed to feel like this. I thought the feelings would come up as we dated but they haven’t and I—. I want to be friends but I don’t think I wanna date. I just… I love you  _ platonically _ , you know?”

Gansey smiles progressively wider as Ronan speaks and by the time he says the word “love”, Gansey is grinning from ear to ear. 

“I love you platonically, too.”

“Then why the hell have we been making out for weeks?” Ronan laughs. 

“So I’ve been researching.”

“Of course you have,” Ronan teases. 

Gansey raises an eyebrow at him and Ronan gestures him on with his free hand. Gansey still hasn’t let go of his other and Ronan isn’t about to let go first. 

“I had a bit of a crush, right? That’s why I asked you out in the first place. But then it wasn’t feeling right. So I looked into some things and I think it’s more of a ‘squish’, a platonic crush.” He took a deep breath. “What do you know about the asexuality spectrum?”

“The what now?” Ronan asks. What Gansey is saying makes sense but he’s never heard of asexuality. 

Gansey smiles, reassured somehow, and continues. “So asexuality is when someone is not sexually attracted to anyone. But there’s a spectrum. One of the more popular is demisexual, which is where you only feel sexual attraction after you establish an emotional bond. There’s also grey-asexual which is where you only experience sexual attraction occasionally. I think I’m probably one of those. I’m not really sure yet.”

Ronan considers. He liked the idea of sex just not with Gansey. So probably not asexual. But he knew he needed that emotional layer first. Maybe he was demisexual. 

“I think I might be, too. Definitely still gay though.”

Gansey smiles at him and Ronan knows from that smile alone that they’ll be alright. He still wants to ask, though.

“What does that mean for us? Are we gonna be okay as friends? I was serious, Gansey, I—,” he swallows, it’s suddenly harder to say the words he let out before, “I love you. I don’t wanna fuck up whatever this is. He runs his hands over his curls and watches Gansey carefully. 

“I was serious, too, Ro. And there’s another thing I found when I was reading. It’s called a ‘queerplatonic partnership’, people on the ace spectrum often form them. It’s like,” Gansey rubbed his thumb against his lip. “This relationship is more than a friendship, it’s an established partnership, but we’re not sexually or even romantically linked. Just. Important.”

Ronan blinked at him. He’d never considered the concept of giving a title to the quickly made but incredibly special friendship he and Gansey had formed. “And you think that could be us?” 

“If you wanted it to be,” Gansey nodded. 

“Yeah, I think I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted this one to be longer but this is all I'm able to get to this week, so enjoy this little pre-canon fluff and I'm gonna leave it a series for when I have time to expand on some other series events I wanna visit through this lens.


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